It’s Community Foundation Week! (But what is a community foundation?)

Nov 12, 2013 | Crystal DeStefano

During the week of November 12-18, 2013, the Central New York Community Foundation joins more than 750 community foundations across America for the 14th Annual Community Foundation Week to celebrate the lives changed and communities transformed through philanthropy’s partnership with private and public community leaders and organizations. Community Foundation Week highlights the critical role of community foundations in supporting their local communities. The week culminates with National Philanthropy Day on November 15.

But what is a community foundation? Community foundations are independent, public entities that receive donations from institutions and individuals, then manage and award these funds as grants to local nonprofits that are the heart of strong, vibrant communities. By pooling donations together, the funds are invested and grown for even greater impact. Every state in the United States is home to at least one community foundation—large and small, urban and rural—that is advancing solutions to a wide range of social issues.

Our local Central New York Community Foundation is now 86 years old (established in 1927), administers more than 600 component charitable funds and has awarded more than $120 million in grants since inception. As the region’s largest endowed philanthropic foundation, the Central New York Community Foundation awards more than $8 million in grants to nonprofit organizations annually.

Learn more about the Central New York Community Foundation at www.cnycf.org.

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